Maryland Catholic high school roots for three alumnae swimming for U.S. in Paris

BETHESDA (OSV News) — Just one day ahead of the grand opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda hosted its own celebration — a pep rally to showcase the community’s love, support and pride for three alumnae Olympians.

Katie Ledecky (class of 2015), Phoebe Bacon (class of 2020) and Erin Gemmell (class of 2023) are members of the U.S. Women’s Swim Team competing in Paris.

More than 600 enthusiastic Stone Ridge Gator fans of all ages — many wearing specially-designed Bacon/Gemmell/Ledecky Team USA Olympic T-shirts showing a figure swimming beneath the Eiffel Tower — turned out in full force on July 25 to the Bethesda campus of the all-girls k-12 Catholic school sponsored by the Religious of the Sacred Heart.

Loud cheers, lots of patriotic red, white and blue colors, dozens of homemade posters and countless U.S. flags were on hand to honor the hometown Olympians.

Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville held a similar sendoff for sisters Juliette and Bella Whittaker, who will be competing in track and field at the Olympics.

“We are beyond excited to be able to be there to support her. We are thrilled!” said Philippa Bacon, mother of 22-year-old Phoebe Bacon, who is competing in her second straight Olympics as a 200-meter backstroke swimmer.

For the Tokyo Games in 2021, spectators were not permitted to attend due to the global pandemic. This time around, Bacon’s family, including her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, as well as family friends, are excited to be their own cheering section in the viewing stands for Phoebe’s races. “I think we are taking over half the plane (to Paris),” Philippa Bacon said ahead of the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics in an interview with the Catholic Standard, Washington’s archdiocesan newspaper.

Swimming events at the 2024 Summer Olympics began July 27 and will conclude Aug. 4. A total of 852 swimmers from around the world are competing in Paris. On July 27, Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history, won her first medal of the 2024 Games with a bronze in the women’s 400-meter freestyle.

Before the rousing assembly began, rally-goers spent time signing large postcards, writing short, but sweet words of congratulations, encouragement and gratitude to each of the Stone Ridge Olympians. Messages included: “Good luck – we know you can do it!”, “Bring back Gold!” and “Thank you for being such a great role model to my girls – 8 & 6 years old!”

Held in the school’s gymnasium, the rally also featured the Stone Ridge Olympic teammates in a slide show of photos in and out of the pool, as well as video greetings from them, all of whom swam for their high school Gators team. Local television news channels were also present to capture the pre-Olympic excitement. In individual pre-taped messages, Ledecky, Bacon and Gemmell each expressed gratitude to the Stone Ridge and Montgomery County communities for their longtime support on their Olympic journeys.

Then from Croatia, where the U.S. swimming team trained prior to the Olympics, the three Gator Olympians, posing together and wearing the special Stone Ridge Team USA T-shirts, relayed joint messages back to the community — thanking everyone for their love and support and for cheering them on in Paris. “We can’t wait to start racing!” said Ledecky, 27, competing in her fourth Olympics. Bacon added, “And thanks for these awesome T-shirts!”

Also in a video message, Catherine Ronan Karrels, the head of school at Stone Ridge, who traveled to Paris to root for her former students, thanked everyone for turning out and promised live swimming race updates throughout the games. “Go Gators! Go Katie! Go Erin! Go Phoebe! Go Team USA!” she said.

Malcolm McCluskey, the head of the Stone Ridge Upper School, told the crowd that all three Olympian alumnae represent their alma mater beautifully and they continue to embody the school’s spirit. “They are amazing ambassadors not only of Stone Ridge, but also the USA,” he said.

The Stone Ridge Gators’ swimming and diving coach, Bob Walker, who could not be present for the rally, said in a video message that his pride for the three Olympians is indescribable. “Not only are they great swimmers, but great role models. Good luck in Paris!” he said.

Andrew Maguire, Stone Ridge’s athletic director, who was the rally’s emcee, said of the former Gators turned Olympians, “We are so proud of them. All their hard work and dedication has culminated in this, and they have reached the pinnacle of their sport.” Maguire also led the crowd in several rousing “USA Gator!” cheers which were broadcast live and recorded for the Stone Ridge Olympians in Paris.

While it is not uncommon for swimmers from the same college to be named to an Olympic team together, it is nearly unprecedented for three athletes who attended the same high school to do so. Only 20 women were named to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Swimming Team. With Stone Ridge alumnae earning three of those spots, 15 percent of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Swimming Team is composed of Stone Ridge Gators.

Evie Kalas, a Stone Ridge fourth grader, proudly held her homemade poster featuring her school’s Olympians. She said she’s been cheering for Katie Ledecky for her entire life and admires all three because “they are the world’s best swimmers!”

Her dad, Bob Kalas, taught both Ledecky and Bacon social studies at Little Flower School in Bethesda, where the girls attended elementary school and where both families are members of the parish. A sign of support for the swimmers is displayed on a wall outside Little Flower School in Bethesda.

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